Moroccan Adventure #3 -- Day 4 (No 2 - 3)

Greetings Friends, about May 11:

Fez was really a lovely place; more exactly giving us the experience of a real Arabic city. It was extremely hot here and we were advised that the further south we go, the hotter it will get. I need cooler clothes! Our first visit today was to the Royal Palace. There is a new wing which has some magnificent hammered doors. I am sorry that we cannot send pictures, but the WiFi signals are very week here, or non-existent. That is why my journals are hit and miss. Our morning was spent visiting the outside of the Medina (the medieval center of the city). Because today is Friday, many of the businesses are closed – Friday being a holy day for Muslims.

We did go into the ancient Jewish center. There are very few Jews left here because, we are told, 13,000 left voluntarily to move to Israel. The streets were incredibly narrow, and the homes seemed to be in a poor state of repair. We were told that it would be very inexpensive to buy one of these buildings, compared to other parts of the city. The Jews who remained in Morocco now live in the new, modern part of the city. We have been told by many people that the relationship between Jews and Moroccans is very good. Everyone we speak with about such things tells us that Moroccans are very proud of the way their way of life encourages freedom and tolerance. We went to Jewish Synagogue in the quarter, still being maintained as an important historic building, but no longer used as a synagogue. Along the way we stopped in a narrow street at a door next to a plaque in the wall telling us that this had been the home of the venerated Jewish scholar, Maimonides.

One sees girls together as friends, one with very modern dress, the other with more traditional covering. One does not see the full, black draping of women here, as we saw frequently in Egypt, with only a small slit for the eyes or, even, perhaps, a slightly opaque veil totally covering the face; even black gloves on the hands and black socks on the feet. I cannot help but wonder how they can walk around in temperatures in excess of 104 degrees F. We even have pictures of women covered like that while sitting on the beach in Alexandria. “Covered,” here, however, may mean tights with a modern long blouse and a head covering.

Today we also went by bus to the top of a high hill where we could see the Panoramic view of Fez. It was too hot for me to go walking so I stayed in the bus and looked through the window. Then we went to a pottery factory where we watched the expert potters at work. Of course we could not resist buying two lovely hand-painted mugs. There were many other beautiful things to buy, but they must be carried home in a suitcase.
Back to the hotel we stayed only a short time before driving to a spa in the mountains. I don't know how we did this, because we were already so hot, but we signed up for a short swim in the natural sulfur hot water (it really felt good) and for a 30-minute massage afterward. We went back to the bus with our strings untied......but, we were not finished yet! We arrived back at the hotel with 10 minutes to change and get back to the bus for dinner and a show. (Take a deep breath!)

The restaurant was very crowded, and we enjoyed good traditional meal, but we were also allowed to buy a bottle of Moroccan wine and beer. A band, led by a lute and several other instruments played through dinner a very traditional Middle Eastern music. They were followed by a marching band that came in through the diners, then a fairly good fully dressed belly dancer, who picked people from the audience to dance with her. I ended up on the stage; with Barbara Horton then Terry Shrader danced too. Ron beat a retreat to hide by a pillar and take photographs. This was followed by a really good magician. He did a trick with a dove which was cleverly done and put the dove on the edge of the stage afterward, and it just stayed there. He called a young boy up to the stage and did good card tricks, then started to walk out of the theater, leaving the bird on the stage. I felt safe; I had already been picked on to belly dance, so, when he was leaving the bird behind, I said an audible “ahhh!” Well, stupid me, he immediately came and grabbed me by the hand on stage to be his assistant..... First there was babble, (he spoke a little English) then he had me dance to the music (remember, my feet don't work, so I used my arms and swayed in ersatz Arabic fashion, much to the amusement of my friends. Then he asked me if I liked animals, and in response to his questions, I described Rudy. So he promised that, if I did as he asked, he would make a little white dog appear. He took a silk handkerchief, and twisted it up in a tight wad, and requested that I push it down between my breasts … I put on a show of embarrassment then did as he asked. After a few moments of patter, telling me there was a snake in there etc., he pulled out the fabric, attached at the end was a small, white cotton bra!!!

Later there were Berber sisters with false blonde hair who simply gyrated to the music. Don Stone was called up and hammed up a fine performance with them. We have photographs to prove that! This was followed by a beautiful, svelte belly dancer dressed a minimal saffron outfit; while Don was a hard act to follow, she was easy on the eye!!

Then came the high-point of the evening – “The Wedding.” Linda and Larry, from J'ville, members of our group, were quietly taken to a special room where they were dressed in amazing clothes and she in sumptuous jewels as well. With loud music and much applause, she was carried to the stage, in a golden litter, on the shoulders of 4 strong people. A mock wedding was performed as they got married again, Moroccan-style.
The day came to an end shortly after that, and we finally got to bed around 12:30 AM.